The Nightly Turbo: World Series of Poker Circuit Hammond Breaks Record, Poker Player on Survivor, and More

October 19, 2010

Elaine Chaivarlis

Fiending for your collection of the top poker news stories of the day? Well, you've stumbled across the best place on the Web to find them. So kick back, we know you've had a hard day at work, and let us tell you about the latest World Series of Poker Circuit stop that's breaking records, what the rumor mill is saying about Johnny Chan, and a reality TV show, and more.

In Case You Missed It

The Day 4 field of the World Poker Tour Festa al Lago shrunk from 41 to 13. A familiar name is at the top of the chip leaderboard, but you'll have to check out the Day 4 recap to find out who it is.

Want to catch up on all the high-stakes action from the nosebleed tables on Full Tilt Poker? The Online Railbird Report has you covered.

There's plenty going on in the gaming world outside of poker. Inside Gaming has the scoop on PokerStars in Belgium, blackjack on the Cake Network, and Harrah's going public.

The 2010 Poker Hall of Fame class was just announced. Erik Seidel and Dan Harrington will be joining the exclusive list.

PokerNews' own Donnie Peters took a look at the top Phils in the game. Battle of Phils compares Ivey and Hellmuth side-by-side.

Schweet Win

Brett Schwertley's win in the opening event of the World Series of Poker Circuit Hammond will go down in the history books. He took down the largest poker tournament in WSOP-C history. The $350 buy-in event attracted a field of 1,611 players, smashing the previous record set by the same event in 2009, which attracted 1,412 entrants.

The tournament began Friday with every poker table at Harrah's Horseshoe Casino Hammond filled and there were nearly 200 alternates waiting their turns and an extra day had to be added to the schedule. Schwertley navigated the field and took home the $77,438 first-place prize and the coveted gold ring. This was Schwertley's fifth cash this season. With only three WSOP-C stops in the books, Schwertley is well on his way to being a contender on the point leaderboard.

When asked if he thinks the new points system motivates players, he said, "I think it is, for a lot of people – yeah. If you get the points, you get a chance to play in the bigger event, so sure."

WSOP.com has all the results from the event.

Has the Tribe Spoken?

OK, so the rumor mill is abuzz with news that there might be a poker player on the next season of Survivor. Of course, a TwoPlusTwo thread was fired up and the community members are debating the validity of this rumor. Johnny Chan is the player in question and the TwoPlusTwoers were dissecting Chan's whereabouts this summer, the World Series of Poker Europe, and his Twitter account.

We did some searching and found a Survivor blog that posted, on September 16, a story accompanying this headline: Poker Star Daniel Negreanu/Johnny Chan on Survivor 22? "So I heard through the grapevine that S22 Nicaragua (aka Rob Vs Russell) has a known poker pro in the cast of players," the blog said.

As of now, all of this is is just a rumor, and we guess we're going to have to wait till next season to find out if the "sources" are right.

SurvivorRealityShow.Blogspot.com has more.

Jarvis and Dolan Join the Bristol Crew

The ESPN Inside Deal is back, but this time, rather than coming at you from Bristol, the threesome is at Foxwoods Casino for the Foxwoods World Poker Finals. Laura Lane, Bernard Lee, and Andrew Feldman discuss the new inductees to the Poker Hall of Fame, the World Series of Poker coverage, and talk to 2010 November Niners Matthew Jarvis and John Dolan.

Sued for Winning

We're not legal analysts, we've never claimed to be, so we won't be analyzing this, just giving it to you straight. According to a thread on TwoPlusTwo, a group of poker players is being sued, essentially for winning. Among the players named in the suit are Andy Seth and Faraz Jaka.

The suit, filed by Scott Crespo, claims "Any person who by gambling shall lose to any other person, any sum of money or thing of value, amounting to the sum of $50 or more and shall pay or deliver the same or any part thereof, may sue for and recover the money or other thing of value..." In addition to that, "If within 6 months, such person who under the terms of Subsection 28-8(a) is entitled to initiate action to recover his losses does not in fact pursue his remedy, any person may initiate a civil action against the winner."

So, players in Illinois, you might need to be on the lookout. The Poker Players Alliance is checking out this issue.

Check out the thread on TwoPlusTwo.